Bad Day Saturday
by mocha latte
Summary: R/J friendship fic. My version of what takes place after A-Tisket-A-Tasket. All the chapters are up, so come on in and enjoy! Feedback rocks, so review please.
1. Chapter One

Chapter One  
  
Luke Danes glanced up from the cash register as the door of his diner swung open. Lorelai Gilmore and her daughter, Rory, were staggering in, looking like they had just rolled out of bed. Both were wearing pajama pants and sweatshirts. Rory had a thick book under her arm, and Lorelai held the latest issue of the National Enquirer.  
  
" Did I miss something? It's 9:00 on a Saturday morning. Why are you two not sleeping?" Luke asked warily, reaching for two mugs and pouring hot coffee into both.  
  
" Didn't sleep. Birds." Lorelai muttered, waving her hand around and sliding onto a stool. She took the coffee gratefully.  
  
" There's a bird nest outside her window. Lots of chirping." Rory explained sleepily, pouring sugar into her java. " Didn't feel like walking downstairs to my room. Wanted coffee. Here we are."  
  
" You're not speaking in full sentences. This can't be good." Luke put down the coffee pot in front of them. " I'll just leave this here. Help yourselves."  
  
" Hey, Luke. Is, uh, Jess awake yet?" Rory asked, glancing over at her mother, who still seemed in a daze.  
  
" Yeah, he should be down in a few minutes. Why?" Luke opened the cash register and studied the contents.  
  
" No reason," Rory answered quickly, looking down into her mug. She waited until Luke left the counter before looking back up again. Jess was standing right in front of her. Rory jumped, and then made a face at him.  
  
" Didn't mean to scare you," Jess deadpanned. His dark hair was sticking up again, she noticed. Last Saturday, at the auction, it had been flat. She liked it better this way. " Nice pajamas. I have a pair just like them."  
  
" Pink, with purple elephants?" Rory laughed, looking down at her pants.  
  
" Purple elephants? No, mine are green," Jess said with a smirk. He looked over at Lorelai, who was sleeping with her head on the counter. " She okay?"  
  
Rory rolled her eyes. " Great. Now she sleeps."  
  
" We have a bed upstairs. Actually, two, if you count the new air mattress Luke bought. Do you want to bring her up there?" Jess offered.  
  
" Sure, why not?" Rory poked her mother in the ribs, causing Lorelai to flinch.  
  
" Come on, we're going upstairs."  
  
" I'm awake," Lorelai protested, blinking.  
  
" Upstairs." Rory ordered, pulling Lorelai off the stool.  
  
  
  
" Where'd the Bobbsey Twins go?" Luke asked, going back behind the counter.  
  
" Rory brought Lorelai upstairs to go to have a siesta." Jess answered. " I think they're both half-asleep."  
  
" It's 9:15. Of course they're still asleep." Luke paused. " What? Why are they sleeping in our apartment?"  
  
" You question the Gilmores? I thought you knew better than that." Jess tsked.  
  
Luke nodded his head. " Right. What was I thinking?" He handed Jess a couple dollars. " Cash register. And I need another pot of coffee."  
  
Jess put away the money and setting up the coffee machine when Rory appeared at the counter again. " Sleeping like a baby. Hope you don't mind, she's on your mattress."  
  
Jess shrugged. He put a hand on Rory's book and turned it around so he could see the title. " Louisa May Alcott. Little Women." He raised his eyebrows.  
  
" It's a classic," Rory declared, taking her book back. " How's The Fountainhead coming along?" She asked pointedly.  
  
" It's coming," Jess defended himself. " I still say she's crazy."  
  
" We talked about it for a half hour last night. I can't believe you don't see the beauty of The Fountainhead." Rory shook her head.  
  
Jess pushed a button on the coffee machine and turned his attention back to Rory. " Luke said he would give me a couple hours off today. You want to do something?"  
  
Rory hesitated for a moment. Dean had left a message on her cell phone about going somewhere with his parents all day, and that they would talk when he got back. So, no Dean in Stars Hollow.  
  
" I need to go back home and get changed," Rory said slowly. " You want to meet back here at 11?"  
  
" Sounds good to me," Jess agreed. He smiled slightly. " I'll give you coffee for the road. Looks like you're gonna need it."  
  
  
  
Rory slid through the door of Luke's Diner at 11:00 exactly. Jess was waiting for her, reading The Fountainhead and eating a donut. She snuck up behind him and took the book out of his hands.  
  
" What the hell?" Jess asked, turning until he could see that it was Rory.  
  
" Is my mother awake yet?" Rory asked, sitting next to him and giving back the book. Jess reached over and slid the paperback under the counter.  
  
" Still dead to the world," Jess replied, pulling his jean jacket over his red tee.  
  
" Maybe you should leave her a note or something."  
  
" Good idea. I'll be right back." Rory ran up the steps and into Luke's apartment. She grabbed a pad of paper and a pencil, writing as she made her way to where Lorelai slept.  
  
Mom,  
  
Went out with Jess. I'll leave my cell phone on so you can reach me.  
  
Don't worry, I'll be careful. Boy in the plastic bubble kinda careful.  
  
I love you.  
  
Rory  
  
Rory left the note next to her mother and ran back down the stairs. 


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two  
  
Lorelai opened her eyes and blinked. It took her a moment to take in her surroundings. Suddenly, she realized where she was. Luke's apartment. She had actually fallen asleep in his apartment. With blurry eyes, Lorelai checked the clock hanging on the wall. Quarter after eleven. She had been sleeping about an hour and 45 minutes. Not enough. More sleep . . . But not in Jess' air mattress. Hadn't Luke gotten Jess a real bed yet? What was wrong with him?  
  
Lorelai crawled off the mattress, her hand coming in contact with a pad of paper. She picked it up, squinting at the writing. Her daughter's handwriting. Where was Rory? She read the note, wincing at the mention of Luke's nephew. Even after the talk she and Rory had had at Emily's, Lorelai was still wary of Jess. The little hoodlum.  
  
Maybe she would sleep. The air mattress wasn't that uncomfortable. Rory was out, having her teenage fun. Lorelai climbed back into bed, covering herself up and dozing off. Again.  
  
  
  
" There really isn't anything to do in this town, is there?" Jess asked in disgust. He and Rory were sitting on a bench, eating sandwiches from Doose's Market.  
  
" And you're just now figuring that out?" Rory asked with a laugh, crumpling up her sandwich paper and tossing it in a trash can.  
  
" So, did you and Dean make up yet?" Jess asked casually, drinking his soda.  
  
" No, we didn't really get a chance to. He went somewhere with his parents today, so we're gonna talk when he gets home." Rory sighed. " I hate fighting with him."  
  
" So, you've fought before? You don't seem like that kinda couple. You know, who fight." Jess remarked.  
  
" We fight," Rory defended. " Everybody fights. It's healthy to fight."  
  
" If you say so," Jess shrugged, throwing away his paper.  
  
" We broke up once," Rory mentioned. " On our three month anniversary. It wasn't pretty. He said he loved me, and I didn't say it back."  
  
" So?" Jess asked.  
  
" When someone says that they love you, you should say it back." Rory said.  
  
" Not if you don't know for sure that you love them back." Jess studied Rory's face. " I'm guessing you ended up saying it back."  
  
Rory looked down at her hands. " Yeah. Because I do love him. Dean's my boyfriend. He's a great guy."  
  
" Yeah, he's a great guy," Jess said flatly. " A little jealous, possessive, sure. Suffocating, even. Great guy."  
  
" Stop, Jess." Rory said sharply.  
  
Jess held up his hands. " I just call 'em like I see 'em."  
  
Rory's face darkened.  
  
" Truce," Jess added. " Let's not talk about Dean."  
  
" Fine by me," Rory muttered. She looked at her hands.  
  
Silence.  
  
  
  
Lorelai awoke and searched for the clock. Almost noon. Lunch. Seemed like a great time to wake up. Drink some coffee, eat a sandwich. She sat up. Oooh. Take a shower and brush her teeth. Lorelai stood up and straightened her sweatshirt. Her eyes landed on Jess' suitcase. There was a bracelet on top of the luggage. Familiar.  
  
Lorelai snatched the leather bracelet. Damn. It was Rory's. The one Dean had made for her, last year. What the hell was Jess doing with Rory's bracelet?  
  
" You're awake. Thank God, I thought you were dead," Luke said suddenly from the doorway. " What are you looking at?"  
  
Lorelai held up the bracelet. " This is my daughter's bracelet. Dean made it for her. Why is it in your apartment? Jess stole it, didn't he."  
  
Luke held up his hands. " Hold on. Rory was up here a couple hours ago, maybe it fell off, or she took it off. Jess didn't steal it, I swear."  
  
" Rory never takes this bracelet off, Luke." Lorelai began to pace. " I'm getting worried about her. Why wouldn't she notice that Dean's bracelet fell off?"  
  
Luke took Lorelai by the shoulders and made her look at him. " Lorelai. What's wrong with you? Why are you freaking out?"  
  
Lorelai sighed. " I don't know. I'm sorry. I guess I'm still tired. I didn't mean to accuse Jess of stealing." Her eye caught the Caller ID box sitting next to the phone.  
  
" You know, I never really pictured you as a Caller ID-kinda-guy."  
  
" Jess said we should get it. Something about telemarketers. He likes to screw around with them." Luke pushed a button on the box. " See? Isn't that nice?"  
  
" Wait. That said Lorelai Gilmore." She pushed the button again. " I didn't call you last night at 8:00."  
  
" Lorelai, listen to me. Jess and Rory are friends. They went out to get lunch today. Rory probably called him last night. You're making a big deal out of nothing." Luke grabbed Lorelai's hand and pulled her out of his apartment. " Go home. And for God's sake, you're miserable with your coffee. Drink a cup, or ten."  
  
  
  
" Look, I'm sorry about what I said about Dean. It wasn't nice." Jess said as he walked Rory home. " Forgive me?"  
  
" Yes, I forgive you." Rory said, her mind somewhere else. Jess always managed to get to her, even if he wasn't trying. How utterly annoying.  
  
" Rory . . .your house, right?" Jess said suddenly, reaching out and taking Rory's hand. " What's wrong? You almost walked right past it."  
  
Rory pulled her hand out of Jess'. " Yeah, right. My house. Thanks for walking with me. Call me later, ok?"  
  
Jess nodded, surprised. " Sure, I'll call. I'll, uh, talk to you later."  
  
Rory nodded and walked across her lawn to the front door. It swung open before she could get a hold of the doorknob.  
  
" God, you scared me!" Rory jumped. Lorelai smiled at her.  
  
" Come inside, sweetie. We have to have a little talk." Lorelai looked out and saw Jess watching them. She waved to him, pulling her daughter through the door and shutting it firmly. " Oh, Rory? Did you by any chance lose this?" Lorelai held up the bracelet and tilted her head to the side. Rory's eyes widened. " Yeah, that's what I thought." 


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three  
  
Rory pushed up the sleeve of her jean jacket and checked her wrist. Sure enough, Dean's bracelet was gone. Her mind raced. She didn't remember taking it off this morning, when she took her shower. Or yesterday, either. How could she have lost the bracelet? What was going on with her?  
  
As usual, Lorelai could read her mind. " What is going on with you, Rory? You lost Dean's bracelet and didn't even notice. And you called Jess, and didn't tell me. Is it because you knew I wouldn't approve?"  
  
" Why is my relationship with Dean so important to you? I can make my own decisions," Rory said, struggling to keep her voice low.  
  
" I am your mother. I think I have earned the right to know what is going on in your love life, or any aspect of your life!" Lorelai covered her face with her hands. " I don't want you to make the same mistakes I did, Rory. Jesus!"  
  
" Mom, we are only friends. Dean is my boyfriend. Jess is just my friend." Rory explained. " I see a lot of good in him. Why can't you take my word for it?"  
  
Lorelai handed Rory the bracelet. " I trust you, Rory. I just don't trust him."  
  
Rory shook her head. " You sound just like Dean. I am sixteen, perfectly capable of choosing my own friends. And Jess is my friend. So back off."  
  
Lorelai's heart sank as she watched her daughter stride into her room and shut the door. The sound of the door locking followed. After a moment, Lorelai grabbed her keys and a coat, slamming the front door as she went out.  
  
  
  
Rory flopped down onto her bed, putting her head into her hands. The second fight between her and her mother in a week . . .and of course it had to do with Jess. He always seemed to be the topic of conversation. She remembered how she had blown him off when he mentioned Dean that afternoon. The silence between them had been awful. Rory didn't want to be upset with Jess, either.  
  
She slipped out into the hallway and picked up the phone. Without thinking, she dialed a number and started up the coffee machine. Caffeine was always a good thing. The other line rang twice and then Luke picked up.  
  
" Luke speaking," the gruff voice of the diner owner barked.  
  
" Luke, it's Rory. Can I speak to Jess, please?" Rory asked softly.  
  
There was a pause. " He just walked through the door, Rory. Hold on."  
  
Jess picked up the phone. " Rory? What's going on?"  
  
Rory looked down at her hands, not sure why she had called him. She didn't seem sure about a lot of things lately. Jess said her name again, this time more concerned then before. Suddenly, tears sprang to her eyes and she blinked rapidly to push them back.  
  
" I don't know why I called you. My hand just kind of dialed your number." Rory began. " But, I'm sorry about this afternoon, I didn't mean to make things bad between us. Everyone is always so down on Dean . . .my grandfather, Luke, Tristan . . . I didn't want you to disapprove of him, too."  
  
" I'm not going to lie, Rory. I don't think he's your kinda guy," Jess said, echoing his own words, from the night of the Bracebridge Dinner. " But, if he makes you happy, then fine. I promise not to talk about him around you."  
  
" Thanks." Rory poured herself a cup of java. " Listen, I think I'm going to go lay down for a while. I'll talk to you later."  
  
" Okay. Sleep tight," Jess said. " Oh, and if you're drinking coffee, you won't be able to go to sleep."  
  
Rory grinned. " How did you know I was drinking coffee?"  
  
" Goodbye, Rory." Jess said. She could almost see him smirking.  
  
" Bye, Dodger." Rory clicked off the phone. 


	4. Final Chapter

A/N : This chapter is for those who reviewed the first three chapters of this fic.  
  
Feedback rocks. And for the reviewer who asked me if I could make it an L/L,  
  
that is my next project. I think. ;) So review, please! Even if you want to say something mean. But nice things are good, too. Enjoy!  
  
  
  
Lorelai pushed open the diner door and marched in, catching herself before she slammed the door. Jess and Luke were standing behind the counter. She slid onto a stool in front of them and raised her eyebrows.  
  
" Why are you back here? Don't you have a life?" Luke deadpanned.  
  
" I just came from my house, where my daughter and I just had a fight. Now. Why do you two think that Rory and I are fighting? I'll give you one guess." Lorelai stared at Jess. " Screw the one guess. What the hell is your problem?"  
  
Jess threw up his hands. " What did I do now? Nothing. I'm standing here, doing nothing. I think you're the one with the problem."  
  
Luke slammed his hand down on the counter. " Outside, both of you. Pronto."  
  
The three went outside, where Lorelai turned on Jess again. But before she could say anything, Jess held up a finger.  
  
" I know you think I'm some kind of klepto. But, I didn't steal the bracelet from Rory. It fell off during our lunch and I just wanted to . . . Have it. She didn't even notice it was gone. Second, I know you think that I'm going to screw her over. I won't." Jess shook his head. " Your daughter is . . .the only thing in this town that I even remotely like. And she seems to feel the same way about me, so maybe you should just trust her."  
  
Lorelai closed her eyes. " You must think I'm crazy. I just don't want her to mess up like I did. And I did mess up, by doing stupid things with stupid people."  
  
" You didn't mess up with Rory." Jess said flatly.  
  
Lorelai studied his face. " No, I didn't. But I was young, too young, when she was born. Rory is going to Harvard, and she is going to have a good life."  
  
" Did I say that she wasn't? I won't get in the way of that. I swear. We're only friends, Lorelai. Rory is going out with Dean, and I promised her that I won't try to get between them." Jess shrugged. " That's all I can really say."  
  
Lorelai nodded. " Yeah, I guess so."  
  
Luke took Lorelai's arm. " You don't want to be like your mother, you told me that. Rory is a good kid. You trust her judgement, I know you do."  
  
" Yeah, I trust her." Lorelai glanced over at Jess. " I hope you keep your word. If you don't, there will be serious hell to pay."  
  
Jess shook his head. " I don't doubt it."  
  
Lorelai looked down at her sneakers. " Well, then, okay. I'm going to take my psycho self back home to talk to Rory."  
  
" Sounds like a plan. I'll see you tomorrow morning." Luke said.  
  
" Have the coffee ready," Lorelai ordered, smiling up at him.  
  
" Of course," Luke agreed. He pushed her gently. " Bye."  
  
Jess and Luke watched her walk away.  
  
" She is one wacked out lady," Jess commented easily, crossing his arms over his chest. " I hope Rory doesn't turn out like that."  
  
" Back inside. We have customers waiting," Luke replied, shoving Jess over to the door. His nephew obliged, shaking his head.  
  
  
  
Rory looked up from her book as her mother came into her room. Lorelai sat on the edge of her daughter's bed, forehead wrinkled in thought. Rory closed the book and waited for the inevitable flood of words to come spilling from her mouth.  
  
" This has been a bad day for both of us. I want to apologize so everything can go back to normal." Lorelai said softly.  
  
" Apology accepted," Rory answered after a moment.  
  
" As for Jess, let's agree to disagree. Unless you end up getting into trouble with him, I'll back off. Deal?" Lorelai asked, looking into Rory's eyes.  
  
" Deal," Rory said with a small grin. Lorelai leaned over and hugged her daughter tightly, closing her eyes.  
  
  
  
The next morning, Rory awoke to the sound of tapping on her window. Squinting at the clock, she saw that it was 8:00.  
  
" What do I have to do to sleep in around here?" Rory grumbled, stumbling out of bed and over to the window. Jess was standing outside wearing a green zipped-up sweatshirt and a wool cap pulled low over his eyes. Rory opened the window.  
  
" Good morning," Jess said. He held out a cup of coffee. " This is for you."  
  
Rory rubbed her eyes. " I was sleeping. How dare you wake me up."  
  
Jess set the coffee inside on Rory's desk and started to climb in. Rory twisted her head around to make sure her mother wasn't in the kitchen. Which of course she wasn't, because she was sleeping, like normal people. Jess dropped down into her room and shut the window.  
  
Rory took the coffee and went to curl up under her covers. " You can only stay for a little while. If my mom comes downstairs --"  
  
" I'll hide in the closet," Jess interrupted. He helped Rory pull the covers over her, and then he sat Indian-style on the bottom of her bed.  
  
Rory smiled at him. He smiled back.  
  
" Still reading Little Women, I see," Jess said, picking up the book. " I expect better from you."  
  
" Please. This from the boy who can't get through The Fountainhead," Rory teased. Jess made a face at her.  
  
  
  
Lorelai tip-toed down the stairs and over to Rory's door. She cracked it open. Rory was under the covers. Jess was sitting on the end of the bed. Lorelai strained to hear what they were saying.  
  
" . . .and Ernest Hemmingway. I thought you said you would try him again," Jess said, raising his eyebrows.  
  
" I will. As soon as I'm done Louisa May Alcott," Rory replied.  
  
Lorelai smiled and backed away from the door. She went back up the stairs and into her room. They were talking about books. She couldn't say that she had ever done that when she had boys in her room.  
  
Lorelai pulled the covers over her head and fell back asleep.  
  
  
  
The End 


End file.
